“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls” ~Pablo Picasso
The earthquakes of September 4, 2010 (7.1 magnitude) and February 22, 2011 (6.3 magnitude) left the city of Christchurch (ChCh) in near complete devastation. The 2011 earthquake was technically an “after shock” of the 2010 one and “less severe” on the Richter Scale, however, it was more powerful due to it occurring on a fault line closest to the city center at a shallow depth. The shaking was so intense and destructive that it produced ground vibrations 3-4 times greater than the 2010 earthquake. Many heritage buildings were heavily damaged and over a quarter of the Central Business District buildings had to be demolished. Residents fled the city in a massive number after the quake, leaving many residential areas in a derelict state. Even now, over a decade later, the city still has not fully recovered or rebuilt.
In fact, we also “experienced” an earthquake tremor while we were in town. Thankfully it was many miles away but was still unnerving knowing it was a possibility at any time.
What makes ChCh special is what has emerged from this devastation…AMAZING murals ALL over the city!! What were once fractured facades are now beautiful pieces of art. There are literally hundreds of these across ChCh, every day we would find new ones. Here are some of the more interesting ones and a few of my favorites:
I didn't know some of the artists or names of the murals, but you can find all of these and MANY more on the website Watch This Space, it's an ongoing collaborative place where you can add new murals and tag which ones you've seen.
